Consecration

June 19, 2016

This week has been fantastic! It is crazy that we get our transfer
calls tomorrow! I really hope that I don't transfer, and that I will
be able to continue to help the people in Suehiro to come unto Christ.
The chances are high that I will be able to stay, but it is still a
major toss up. I am really excited to have the opportunity to work
with a companion! Scheidt choro has been awesome, but it will be nice
to have a change, and to be able to learn new things.

This week my spiritual thoughts are short, but I think very thought
provoking; or at least they have been to me. The central piece of my
thoughts has been: Consecration. "Consecration means to give all that
you are, and all that you can become to God." -Elder Bednar. He also
talks about how we need to becoming, and then giving our very best
selves to Heavenly Father, and his work. It may seem impossible to
give everything, but Elder Bednar says that it is not impossible. He
says that we do not have to be perfect to be a Consecrated member. It
is a mindset. A never settling, always seeking to be better, to give
more, to be more mindset. I would like to encourage you all to, along
with me, think about your mindset. Is your mind set in a way that is
consecrating your best self to the Lord? Is there anything more that
you can give? Are you holding things back? Remember that living the
gospel is easy. Not living the gospel is hard. Christ is the light and
the way. Choose to be happy, and to feel joy in this life, which is
very much so our purpose in this life. "Joy" in some cases means to
"become like God", which is our purpose here. If you do not have joy
in your life frequently now, you are not living in accordance to the
Gospel, because the gospel brings joy. President Hunter teaches us
about how when we live the Gospel we have the strength to endure all
things, through this mind engrossing quote, �gIf our lives and our
faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing
can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not
centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be
permanently right.�h Please ponder on those things this week, and if
you have any insights, which I'm sure you do, shoot me an email! I'd
love to hear them!

I bare testimony that Christ lives. He Lives, and is close to us, when
we let him be close to us. He is waiting in anticipation for us to
turn to him in our hearts. He can be our light, and through him we can
overcome, and do all things. I know that the Prophets of God are truly
that. Prophets. They are special witnesses to the Savior. They know
him, and Christ guides us through those great men. Stay close to the
Prophets words, and nothing can go permanently wrong. I am learning to
love more fully. The Church is true. Simple and true. I know it with
all my heart. Choose to doubt your doubt, not your faith, and your
doubt will die. I know these things are true without a doubt, in the
name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

June 19, 2016

This week flew by. On Monday after emailing, we went to Asahikawa (The
big part of the city) to the train station (at train stations they
basically have massive malls here.  We ate at this massive buffet
there as a district, for part of our district activity!! It was so
awesome! They had so many different kinds of food, and it was all so
good. Just think a smaller version of tucanos, but sushi, and Japanese
food too. But so many meats, and pastas, and they also had soft serve
ice cream, and a chocolate fountain with bananas and cream puffs to
dip in it! They also had Caramel popcorn, which is always the best.
Anyway, after that we went to the Asahikawa zoo!! You can look that
up, because it is famous!! It was so awesome! The animals were so
cool, and it was such fun time hanging out with our district, and
getting to know them better. We also wore normal clothes for the first
time in my mission doing something other than sports! That was really
nice!

Monday night Nishino bishop of our ward brought my bike back, and he
had fixed my pedal!! Apparently what he had done was something with
welding a new bolt onto the pedal and then screwing the pedal into new
bolts...Something like that. But it works great right now! He's such a
G! On last Sunday when we were talking about it he said, "There's
nothing that I can't do". Haha I love that!! When he came to bring the
bike back, he also brought four packs of bacon, a big thing of butter,
two HUGE loafs of bread from a bakery, 3 things of jam, and a Box of
handpicked Garden strawberries! He is so kind, and I love him so
much!!! It was so thoughtful and generous of him to give us all of
those things, but especially to take the time to help me with my bike.

This week we saw some really awesome success with some of our
Investigator's! We met with Mitsuishi San, and her husband, and had a
really good time with them, and asked her to come to church, (Him too,
but he's not really open to that right now, and so when we ask him he
laughs like it's a joke.) But we asked her and she came this week for
her second time!! We were so happy! She is so prepared I really want
her to more quickly progress, but I know that the Lord's timing for
her is per
fect. Her and her husband met with missionaries and were really good
friends with them before I was born! They lost contact, but then we
found them again, and have really been having an awesome time with
them! I have no doubt that they will be baptized, sooner or later. I
envision her getting baptized, and then perhaps a year or so later,
her husband also. But she came to church, and then also invited us to
come to their house for dinner last night! "Yaki niku" (Cook meat:
Barbecue) Yaki niku her is like a barbecue, except people go crazy and
have many many different kinds of meets, and all you eat with it is
rice, and cooked vegetables. There are no fries, or buns, or ketchup.
But the meat is gourmet. It is super awesome. We ate some really fancy
shrimp, and so many types of steak, etc. It is always so much meat.
Haha in my time in the mission so far, I've probably eaten more meat
then I ate in all of my time in High school combined! They were so
nice, and fed us so much (really not cheap either), and then we went
inside and she pulled out her special surprise, which was a CAKE! It
was a Cake for Scheidt choro's birthday, which we had already had a
meal with them for, about a month ago, but for some reason she decided
to celebrate it again now, with a cake. But it was awesome. This Cake
tasted so good, and it was so cute. She bought it, but had them make
this special chocolate thing on it, that said "Scheidt choro, and
happy birthday! It was awesome!

I also got my haircut this week! From the same investigator as last
time! It was super awesome again! I love haircuts here! (Before and
after pics below)